Reviews by takemetothelion:

Tried on a whim on a trip to Bootleggers, though a huge fan of the Unibroue series. Pretty pricey at $12 but quality over quanity. poured into tulip glass.

A- Midnight with some amber red. Huge head and a little lacing on this moderately carbonated with this black beauty.

S- Fruit and belgian yeast. Quite complex nose with cinnamon and clove. Reminds me of a holiday time. With a easy alcohol presence. It just looks thick and delicious.

T- Best beer I've ever had. This is my ideal strong dark ale. Milk chocolate and an array of fruits are sweet and intense in this adventure of a drink. Raisins and spice come through hard and every sip is more enjoyable than the last.

MF- The carbonation plays perfectly here and the thickness of the dark ale is epic. leaves no bad aftertaste whatsoever.

Overall, a true champion that other beers could learn a thing or two from. Thank you Unibroue

More User Reviews:

Looks- first up, this is a 2011 vintage, my local beer store threw a case in the "deeply discounted" bin so I grabbed 6 bottles at 5.00 ea. Looks a little cloudy on first pour and settles down a little but never clarifies.
Smell Sugar, Alcohol and a peachy flat earthiness
Taste: a calmed down fruit explosion laced with long lasting apricot/peach/citrus notes. Warms up ok to change the flavour, but definitely stalls out as it is a little past its prime....don't get me wrong ..this is tasty..probably mainly from the fruit/ABV kick..This is a a sweet licorice of a beer that I could quaff again and again..
Would try again as I have another 5 bottles to go...next one has got to be shared with a friend...
one other note: fair amount of sediment in all the bottles.
Mouth feel: thinner than I expected

I have to say it's been awhile since I have had a new Unibroue offering,back in the day I dranf alot of their offerings.Poured into a goblet a russet brown color with a nicely formed one finger off white head.Some phenolic spice and dark fruit in the nose.Yeasty and spiced phenols on the palate,the spice-like phenolic notes are big,some dark fruit and alcohol rounds out the palate.It's a good Belgian dark but I don't get much wood aged except in the finish wich is mild,in saying that it does meld well with the spiced yeasty notes of the beer.

A - Nice dark brown that you can barely see through (only on the edges). No real lacing from the light tan head.

S - Malty - good malty - delightful malty. Did I mention that nice malty smell. A very mild hop could be found hiding underneath. Some chocolate notes were hiding out in the back with the mild hops.

T - The nose and taste matched. That wonderful malt comes up and is backed by a almost chocolate like bittersweet that I really enjoyed. The hops take a back seat (way back) and that is just fine by me for this malty goodness.

M - Not too thick, not too thin. It is all around and floats throughout quite happily. The lower bitterness with the full frontal malty, cereal sweetness makes this all the much better in the hot summer days.

D - Yes, and then again, and then once more because you found out there was still some more in the bottle. Sipped on this gem while prepping food in the kitchen. Made the time go by so easily.

I asked the 'Beer Guy' at the store about it and he said smooth Chimay Blue that has been oak aged. He is quite knowledgeable on what he sells and he was dead on with this one. The fact that it was also on sale made even that much better of a find. I am going to try and get another bottle or two just to put up in the back of the fridge.

According to the brewery's website, this is the exact same beer as Unibroue 17 and I have put in a request for the two entries to be merged. However, since I had this out of a bottle labeled as Grande Reserve, I am entering the rating under this entry.

The beer pours a brownish color with a white head. The aroma has a ton of dark fruit in it, as well as a little bit of toffee. The flavor is a little more complex, with some oak and cherry notes complimenting the cherry and alcohol. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

This bottle was drank alongside an original Unibroue 17, which had developed more dark fruit and yeast components during its aging period.

Handsome embossed bottled from the Yonge and Wellesley LCBO in winter 2012.

Dark brown and cherry, with a big frothy head and loads of lacing. Solid looking brew indeed.

Nose is cherry, figs, chocolate, a bit of yeast and indeterminate candied fruit.

A highly enjoyable dark ale - I really like how the oak played in to this. The chocolate is very delectable, with a slight milky flavor. Fruit is quite nice as well, and the yeast is, as per Unibroue's standards, also enjoyable. A slight woodsy finish. Really digging this. Medium bodied, slightly gritty/yeasty. Typical Unibroue in that respect.

A terrific brew that takes the Belgian Dark Ale to some exciting levels. A thoroughly enjoyable brew over the course of an evening. Worth a pick up!